Friedman Runt??

[napalmdeath]

Alright, i can officially afford a Bogner Helios, but this AM, starting getting cold feet...

I dont gig, but play at home fairly regulary, atleast 4 times a week. No band situation, but I do get some good volume levels.

Heres where im stuck. I cant help but think for a $1000 less, I'm in a Friedman Runt 50 and still in that high gain Plexi mode, more straight-forward. I do like the fact that I have two footswitchable dirty channels, whereas the Helios is somewhat limited and for all intents and purposes, a one channel amp?

 

[lukeburke1]

Do you have a chance to try a Runt out before buying? I had a Runt 50, but I sold it after 2 months. They don't have much low end on the dirty channel, and you have to dial back the presence to keep it from getting harsh. The clean channel on the Runt really is fantastic though.

It can cop a good EVH/80s tone, but it doesn't do heavier tones too well due to the lack of lows. I replaced mine with a Bogner Shiva and haven't looked back. YMMV, but the Runt just didn't work for me

 

[napalmdeath]

Do you have a chance to try a Runt out before buying? I had a Runt 50, but I sold it after 2 months. They don't have much low end on the dirty channel, and you have to dial back the presence to keep it from getting harsh. The clean channel on the Runt really is fantastic though.

It can cop a good EVH/80s tone, but it doesn't do heavier tones too well due to the lack of lows. I replaced mine with a Bogner Shiva and haven't looked back. YMMV, but the Runt just didn't work for me

The Helios just does it for me, I just cant justify needing the bells and whistles and price.

 

[PBGas]

Man....even though I have an amazing XTC that I love, after trying that Helios back in the summer, I may have to go back for a second listen. Great sounding amp!

 

[memberzonly]

If you are drawn to the amp for the Hot 70's input/mode and do not need clean it is a stellar amp. If you are looking for a good clean and want the previous, the Helios cannot do it.

If Bogner came up with a way to give you the Hot input 70's mode and a foot switchable clean that compared to their alpha channel on the Goldfinger, MANY amps would be sold.

The 70's mode hot input with the gain at 2:00 or above is a most glorious Marshall inspired tone.

 

[scottosan]

I owned the Helios and now own the runt. You can get much of the Helios tones if you are not afraid of setting your presence or treble lower than 12:00. Some people judge amps by how they sound with controls at noon. For me, the 2 channel I used most on the Helios, being the clean and high gain are not footswitxhable and required to physically switch jacks. Having owned most models of Bogners, the Helios has the least amount of that Bogner chewiness. I have have my runt for 3 months and while I keep my presence and treble set at 3 (out of 11) The Helios is more versatile but not in a practical sense. You have to stop and move plugs and switches

 

[napalmdeath]

Looking for more Runt feedback! Specifically the 50, and the low end.